I am the proud owner of two purebred Shih-Tzus who are not only faithful companions, but also family members. If any of you know this breed of dog you know how important it is to have them groomed regularly. I feel I should mention that both my dogs are adults who are used to being groomed regularly. Recently, during an extremely busy time for me, I thought it would be easier if I tried a mobile grooming service. Living in Las Vegas, I was happy to find I had many options. I finally decided on the Las Vegas, Nevada Petco mobile grooming service. With a trusted name like Petco ,I thought they would be in good hands. I was in for a shock.
It was easy enough to call and make an appointment but when the day and time came around, no pink van. I called them to see if perhaps I had the date wrong or they were simply running late. What followed seemed like a horrible comedy of errors. When talking to them I was asked,” Didn’t anyone call you? Your groomer called in.” I was not exactly thrilled given I had waited two weeks for the appointment and I knew they needed to be groomed. I felt reassured however when the lady on the other end said she would take care of everything and she would have another groomer out in about an hour. Finally a sign that someone there had a clue what was going on.
Three hours later I called back and told them I was still without a groomer. She put me on hold and came back to the line saying they would be there within twenty minutes. Alright, not the best sign but I figured I should give them the benefit of the doubt especially considering they had fit me back into the schedule. An hour later the groomer finally showed up. She seemed very nice and very knowledgeable. I felt very much at ease after speaking with her. Having had my dogs groomed many times before, I explained exactly the type of cut I wanted for them. ( They mostly needed a bath and a good trim with the warmer weather coming.) I told her in very plain terms I did not want them shaved completely down and I wanted to keep the cute teddy bear face the breed is known for. She said it was no problem and it would be done in about two hours. She then stressed to me the importance of no one coming and knocking on the van or the like for the safety of the dogs. I understood that.
Hours passed. I finally got the call that they were finished FIVE hours after I handed them over to her. I went to meet her at the van to pick up my nice, trimmed, clean dogs. What I saw when the van door opened shocked me. They didn’t even look like my dogs and I do not mean in any kind of good way. She had down everything I specifically asked her not to do. My dogs were shaved almost completely and their faces were cut down to practically nothing. One of them had no hair left on her paws at all and it was easy to see that her nails had not been clipped at all.(Which was supposed to be included in the grooming.) I realize it is hair and will grow back, but the thing that made me so upset was their behavior afterwards. My normally playful and friendly dogs were terrified. They were crying and did not leave my lap all night. They were so scared I had to fight with them just to get them to go out for their walks,which they normally love. I have used different groomers in the past and never had a reaction like this.
On top of all this, and the groomer knowing I was very upset, I was charged much more then the price she originally told me.(She was quick to add that the price did not include a tip!) I cannot speak for the services of Petco in other cities but I would not recommend it to anyone,anywhere. I assume with a large company they are run by corporate rules,if this is the case I am sure there are many other Petcos that operate in a similar manor. Luckily, my dogs have returned to their normal selves.(Thanks in a large part to a new groomer who has seen this happen many times and knows how to help dogs get comfortable with grooming again.) Through all the years I have had dogs and had dogs groomed I have never come across any business as horrible as this. Their lack of professionalism and obvious lack of training of their groomers makes me wonder how they are still in business. I urge anyone who has an animal family member to please not trust Petco to care for them the way they should be.
